


Howth

by Mjazilem



Category: Preacher (Comics), Preacher (TV)
Genre: Action, Cuddling, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, OT3, Origins, PTSD, Whump, origins story, vampire, vioence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-08-19 15:10:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8213663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mjazilem/pseuds/Mjazilem
Summary: An encounter with the vampire hunters leaves Cassidy out of sorts and Jesse and Tulip to wonder what's wrong. Now Complete





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First fic for Preacher I read like everything on AO3 in the TV tag and found myself an OT3 and had to write something. 
> 
> Had to post Oct 4th when I found out it's the feast day of St. Francis b/c Proinsias is the Irish/Gaelic version of the name Francis
> 
> Hope this is at least enjoyable. Thank you for reading

They were in the thick of it.  They gave the bastards the slip a few blocks back but they had little doubt they were still being hunted.   

For now they were hold up in an empty old bar, in the early hours of the morning trying to regroup.  At least they were all in one piece.  The vampire hunting holier than thou pricks had been using flash bang grenades and arrows to try and incapacitate Cassidy from a far. 

"How do these assholes keep finding you?" Tulip climbs up and swings her legs over the bar. 

"I wish I knew love, they're awful persistent buggers."  Cassidy pulls an arrow from his shoulder and groans as it comes out.  Pain written on his face as he tosses it to the side.

"Well we can throw some molotov cocktails..." Jesse starts lining up the bottles on the bar. 

"Shame to waste it."  Cassidy slumps against the bar and holds a rag to his shoulder to staunch the blood flowing from his leaking shoulder. He picks up the nearest bottle and drinks deep. 

"Sacrifice and all that."  Jesse smirks.

"Oh aye, I suppose tis a good cause." 

"What the hell are we suppose to do with this?"   Tulip comes up from under the bar holding a gun, a rifle of some kind with a wooden stock that looks like it's out of an antique store. 

"What's this thing shoot like one bullet at a time?"  Tulip looks it over, she knows her weapons but she's never bothered with anything this outdated.

"Are there bullets for it."  Jesse questions, they can use it if there are bullets no matter how old it is. He starts looking down where the gun came from. Tulip lays the gun on the bar and joins Jesse muttering "what a useless gun to have in a bar."

Cassidy is stuffing a rag into the bottle he was drinking from preparing it to be used in the fight and he glances over at the gun on the bar.  He picks it up and turns it over in his hands.  "Well hello, look at you."  He smiles smitten. 

He slides the bolt on the side, it moves smoothly in his hand.  He examines the chamber and finds it free of rust.  "Someone's taken good care of you haven't they."  he talks to the gun fondly. 

"Found 'em"  Tulip throws a box of bullets up on the bar.

"Oh yes! Jackpot!" Cassidy forgets the hole in his shoulder in his excitement, the wound had started to knit together tore open and bleeds again. 

Tulip scrambles to find more rags to stuff in bottles.  Jesse comes up with some kitchen knives and a corkscrew. 

Cass slides a bullet into the chamber and works the bolt action into the loaded position.  "Ahh would you look at that she's a beaut."

"Got a thing for old guns Cass?"  Jesse asks Cass is often enthusiastic but he's never seen Cass quite so enamored with a weapon before. 

"What no, no no, well... just appreciating it is all."  Jesse sees a small smile spread on Cass's face, the one that makes him look suddenly very young and full of hope instead of the streetwise and mischievous grin he usually wears, it makes Jesse smile too. 

Cass starts stuffing some of the bullets in his pockets.  "I think the stairs in the back go to the second floor.  I'll go see if I can find a good vantage point and put this baby to good use."

"Yeah, you go find a room to be alone with that old ass peashooter." Tulip calls. 

"Ha. ha. don't listen to the mean lady, we'll show her you can get the job done."  He grabs the box with the rest of the bullets and bounds up the stairs. 

The more hunters he can take out at a distance the better their chances of getting out of here.  The dickheads came prepared this time they brought practically a whole God damn army. 

Where they keep finding all these overzealous half wits Cassidy can't figure. 

Above the bar is mostly rooms used for storage but one has a bed in it and Cassidy doubts it's for employees to sleep on. 

He gets low in the window on the front side and scans the street.  He doesn't see anyone yet but he knows they're coming.  He stays low and moves around to the other side of the room and checks out the window there. 

He can see them now. They're creeping in their little army gear playing like they're real soldiers.  

Cassidy kneels and uses the butt of the rifle to knock a hole in the window.  He crouches resting one elbow on his knee, rifle stock to his shoulder, finger on the trigger.  He breaths slowly out steadying himself and waits for a clean shot. 

Another step, one more, come on yeh bastard...Bang

He drops one. He clears the chamber. Tulip was right about the gun being old there isn't even an automatic cartridge ejector Cassidy has to clear each spent round by hand but it's ok he knows how. He deftly reloads. 

The other's have gone for cover not knowing where the shot came from. Cass delights in confusing the hell out of these idiots. The fact that they are too stupid and filled with righteous brazenness to stay undercover is just the icing on the cake. 

Bang, he clears the hot cartridge to the floor. He drops another man and another as they make a push for the bar. Damn fools. 

Cass fires at any man that sticks their head out. Then they get really brash and organize to try and charge the bar. That's when the molotovs start flying and the vampire hunters break their ranks. 

"That's right, that's what you get you wankers." Cass laughs as he reloads. 

Some of the vampire hunters do push through their fire and Cass knows it's time to move. He knows Tulip and Jesse can take care of themselves but this was never meant to be their fight. 

He shoves the rest of the bullets in his pockets takes the gun and hurries down the stairs. 


	2. Chapter 2

Tulip's got one of them pinned against the bar. Jesse's got two on the floor and more are coming through the door. 

Cass uses the butt of the rifle against one macho burly man's head. The gun wins and Cassidy grins wide. 

"Still got that pop gun Cass?" Tulip quips as she brains one of the men with a bottle, breaking it over his head. 

"Hardly a pop gun Love, took out her fair share she did." He sets the gun down on a table and breaks a chair easily over a man that tries to rush him and picks the gun back up by the barrel and clubs the guy who's fighting Tulip. 

Tulip nods and moves to help Jesse. 

Cass looks around for his next fight when he hears Jesse call out "look out Cass!"

Apparently the guy he hit with the chair had rallied enough to pull a gun. He aims up at Cass from the floor and fires. 

The bullet goes straight through Cass's calf. "Ahhhh, Ya bastard, I liked this pair of jeans."  He hops on his uninjured leg and curses. The man is startled and dazed by the look of him and is trying to re-aim the gun when Cass brings the end of the gun down on the guy's face once, twice, and a few more times for good measure. 

Blood splatters all on the front of Cass's clothes.  He wipes it off his face with the back of his hand and licks it. 

He should drink from one of these sods to heal his wounds but he turns to check on his mates first. His wounds aren't really that bad anyway. Sure they hurt like a bitch but they won't kill him. 

Jesse's just finishing knocking out one man, Tulip's checking out the window and no one is coming through the door. 

"Alright then?" Cass limps forward rifle held over his shoulder. He moves haltingly around the unconscious and the dead to see if his friends need anything. 

Jesse acknowledges him as he stands over the guy he's just put on the floor. 

Tulip turns back to her boys. Jesse and Cass standing in the middle of a floor full of vampire hunters looking like they're shooting the shit instead of being in the middle of a freakin fight. 

"They're falling back, probably gonna regroup." Tulip informs them. 

"Let 'em come, I'm ready.” Cassidy says confidently but then winces and shifts his weight off of his wounded right leg. His expression sobers slightly.  “Just might need to top up from one of these volunteers here." He gestures to the men on the floor.

“Do what's you've got ta.” She tells him. She wants him safe, that's why they're doing this. She'd take on a hundred of the bastards to protect her boy. 

"What's the time?" Jesse asks suddenly concerned. He looks around for a clock and checks his pockets. He can't find his phone. He might have left it in the car. 

Cass looks around the floor and finds a wrist with a watch on it. He wipes the blood from it. "It's half five...oh" He lets the arm drop "...suns coming."

"That might be what they're waiting for." Jesse moves to look over Tulip's shoulder out the window. 

"We should get out of here." She suggests. 

"We've taken out enough of them, they probably can't surround the place we can probably get out the back without too much trouble."  Jesse thinks that's probably their best option. 

Cass shakes his head as he paces in a small body free spot on the floor.  He winces as he puts weight on his leg and pain shoots through his calf.  His boot starts to squelch as the blood runs down his leg.  "We can't just let the bloody bastards have the day."  He says in a low, breathy frustrated brogue. “We can't!” 

Jesse's not exactly sure what about a strategic retreat has Cass riled. He actually sounds upset about leaving. Tulip seems to have the same thought. 

"If we don't try and get out now you're gonna be in a bad way in an hour." Tulip reasons with him and he stops his hitched pacing. 

She moves from the window and expects Cass to argue with her or tell her he's not worried about the sun right now. Instead he's quiet and she sees a perplexed look on his face as he looks at the back of Jesse's head. 

He doesn't look at her as she crosses the floor to him. Instead He takes the gun from his shoulder to hold it in front of him with both hands.  He looks down at the wood and metal in his hands. He grips it tight and feels the weight of it grounding him. It feels familiar to him.

Tulip puts a hand on his arm. His expression is so serious it's almost out of character.  "What's eating you?" 

He blinks and looks at her. His eyes are sad and she thinks for a second he looks like he doesn't understand what she's said. She about to repeat herself when she sees recognition light in his eyes. 

"Just got the strangest sense of deja vu just now." He offers. She squeezes his arm, it's a small gesture of comfort. About all she can offer right now. He smiles at her but it doesn't reach his eyes. She smiles back, her smile doesn't reach her eyes either. 

She lets go of his arm and moves to look for anything she can take with her when they go. 

Cass has the uneasy feeling that he's been here before, but maybe not right here but somewhere like. The feeling lingers. It's like an itch he can't scratch, nagging at him. There's a wave of sadness that comes when he trying to put his finger on what it could be. 

"Hey, we should make our move before these guys get bold again." Jesse turns away from the window "You guys ready?" 

"Hum yeah..."  Cass nods, Jesse notices an air of uncertainty that wasn't there a minute ago. If Cass has a problem with the plan Jesse expects Cass would say. They've gotten to the point in their relationship were everyone gives their opinion pretty freely. Anyway they'll get another day to fight Cass doesn't have to worry about that. 

"Good lets move. Tulip you check the back." He tosses her a pistol. "Cass you taken that gun with you?" 

Cass reaches into his pocket "still got bullets."  

His brow furrows. He does indeed have more bullets. For some reason that surprises him. That feeling that's nagging in the back of his mind tells him he's got more than he should. it's like he didn't fire a shot. He knows he did.

He clears the gun's chamber and sets in a new round and feels real satisfaction sliding the bolt into place. Before a twinge of sadness and fear tarnish it. Cass shakes his head hoping to clear all these confusing feelings so he can focus. 

"Move your asses boys." Tulip yells from the back door. 

Jesse grabs a pistol off one of the dead and shoves it in the back of his waistband. "Let's get out of here." He moves past Cass who's got that perplexed lost sort of look on his face again. 

Jesse tries to comfort what he thinks is wrong with his friend. "Retreat today to fight tomorrow." 

Cass nods he moves knowing it's for the best that they get out while they can. In the back of his mind he can just hear someone else telling him that he needs to 'live to fight another day.' 

He gets to the back hall as the front door bursts open and a man all in black and body armor comes in on a mission. Cass raises the rifle fast and fires. The  blast in the small back hall makes his ears scream. He doesn't know if hit the man as he backs up and falls out the door into the back alley. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and reviewing. Editing is on going


	3. Chapter 3

Jesse shoots one of the hunters who had made their way around the building as he gets out the door and Tulip moves down the alley to check for others. Jesse turns and is startled as Cassidy comes scrabbling through the door into the dark alley tripping and falling into Jesse as the heavy door slams behind him. 

"Run for it boyo they're coming through the front."  He says breathlessly as he tries to get his feet under him.

"Cass?" Jesse can't imagine what's got the vamp so spooked.  

"Go go..." Cassidy pushes Jesse in front of him with a sense of urgency but he can't seem to get his own legs moving right. 

Jesse practically laughs at the gangly man whose limbs are going in all directs. He probably would have laughed had he not seen the scared look in his friend's eyes  "Well come on." He says with a confident smirk. 

Jesse can just see Tulip giving him the 'all clear' sign at the end of the alley. 

He starts to jog quickly and quietly in her direction but stops when he realizes Cass isn't with him. Jesse turns and see Cass struggling. He's moving but looks like he's in agony as he limps deeply with every other faltering step. Jesse doesn't have time to question what's slowing Cass down he goes back and pulls the taller man's arm over his shoulder taking the weight off Cass's wounded leg "come on buddy." 

"I can't, I can't go any further. It hurts. Lord but it hurts. You have ta go." Cass whimpers and struggles as Jesse half carries him down the rest of the alley. 

"What hurts? What's wrong with him?" Tulip asks in a dramatically hushed voice. She notices looking back at the boys that Cass looks like death being dragged along by Jesse. 

His face is twisted in a grimace and eyes are squeezed tight in pain. 

Jesse is about to tell her he's not got a clue when Cass speaks up. His accent suddenly seems ten times thicker to Jesse's ears 

"Ye should go, Billy, they're shooting people on the spot." Cass's voice is filled with emotion, fear and sadness. "Leave me I'll only slow you down." 

"Who's Billy?" Jesse can just see Cass's face in the dim light from a nearby street lamp. The vamp has an expressive face but Jesse's never seen this stricken look before. 

"No one's leaving anyone if I can help it." Tulip says determined. "You give me that." She takes the rifle from Cass's hand and peers around the corner. "Come on let's move."  

Luckily the car was to the West so at least they were moving away from the sun. 

Cass whimpers and cries out with every other step. This is the most vocal Jesse's heard Cassidy about an injury before the other man is usually much more stoic. It's worrying. Jesse knows he gets hurt even though things often heal quickly the initial injuries do cause him pain like they would a human person. 

"I'm sorry it's not that much further Cass, we'll get out of here and we'll find you some blood hang in there."

"Blood? Get me a priest. Get us a priest. If yeh don't just let me go Billy they catch you for sure." Cass says with a strained voice. Jesse shakes his head unsure what Cassidy is talking about but tries not to let it phase him until... "Ave Maria, gratia plena..."

Jesse is so shocked by Hail Mary coming out of Vampire's mouth he stops. Cassidy recites the prayer in latin and then starts again. 

"What's the hold up you dopes?"  Tulip backtracks to check on the boys. She can see as she gets closer the startled look on Jesse's face. 

"Something ain't right." Jesse tells her as holds Cass up as they stand on the sidewalk. 

"What's wrong with him?"  She looks Cass up and down, his expression is pained and his eyes are closed, his mouth is moving but she can't make out the words. 

"I don't know but something is, he's praying."  Jesse says baffled. Tulip isn't sure what to make of that, she knows Cass's feelings on religion, the hypocrisy and all. 

"Cass Sweetheart. Are you alright?" Tulip touches his face and he stops his prayer to look at her. His eyes are watery and seem to wonder around her face. 

"Billy, Billy can you see her?" Cass whispers at Jesse. “ahh no, no o'course not, angel of death I think she is, she's beautiful. More beautiful than I would have thought... and terrifying."

"Right...” Tulip raises her eyebrows and leans her head towards Jesse. “So you're Billy and I'm the angel of death? Cass babe what are you on?" She turns his head towards her so she can see his eyes. His hazel eyes are full of fear and unfocused as she tries to make eye contact but they're not bloodshot. It's not the first time she's seen him in a haze but she's never seen him have a bad trip quite like this. 

"Maybe he was drugged some kind of Vampire poisoned arrow?" Jesse suggests. 

Cass as if he hasn't heard the other's talking too and about him speaks up. "By Jesus why would ye stop here, and under a light. They're sure ta spot us." 

"We've slipped away fine those pricks don't even know we've gone." Tulip says disdain in her voice. 

"You're for sure a pretty angel but I don't know what you're talking about they've surround the city, there's ships and they're bringing in more soldiers everyday. Some of them'll catch us here. They'll execute us if they do." 

Jesse doesn't like that Cass isn't making much sense, it's worrying him more and more. "Well that last part's not far from the truth of the situation. The car isn't that much further, let's just get there and then sort him out."  Jesse tightens his grip on Cass's arm and waist and get's ready to move.

 Cassidy is quiet as they move this time. He concentrates on walking but with every sound, car tires screeching in the distance, a gate clanging with the wind, Jesse feels him tense.  

Finally they make it to the car just as dawn starts to break. 

Cassidy cries and moans as they get him in the back seat. “Are ya a fool, Bill,” His voice breaks with pain “a car running at this hour someone's sure to notice and it has to belong to some rich tosspot, they'll set all the soldiers looking for it.” Cass says as he holds his leg and grimaces and puts his head against the glass of the window and says frustrated. “Can you even drive a machine like this Billy? This is just going beyond the beyonds...” and then in a quiet voice that wrenches at Tulip's heart. “I told ya to leave me.” 

“No one's leavin' yeah Cass.” Jesse says with all seriousness as he climbs in the front seat. 

“Why do ya keep callin' me that?... Ya daft?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading and Reviewing. Editing is on going.


	4. Chapter 4

Cass's eyes are half lidded unfocused. He's got his arms wrapped around his middle. Tulip had put the rifle on the floor in the back with him and he watches as the street lamp light reflects off the barrel as they drive fast through the streets.  He knows he should be watching out the windows.  Looking for soldiers.  
   
But the pain is making everything hazy. 

He doesn't recognize anything. He thought he knew every part of the city. These strange streets and how fast they are moving down them is starting to make his head hurt. 

He closes his eyes and hopes for this all to be over. 

Tulip keeps glancing in the review mirror Cassidy has closed his eyes and she not sure if that's a good thing or not.

Her plan is to get them out of town and find a motel.  Hopefully that wouldn't take too long.  

Hopefully the vampire hunters and whoever else Cass seems to be worried about will be long behind them.   
   
The sun was well in the sky by the time they find a motel. Tulip drives around and scopes the place out before Jesse goes in and asks the manager for a room on the shady side of the building. 

"Cass, Cassidy?" Tulip asks softly turning in her seat to get a better look at him while they wait.

"What's that love?" He mutters and Tulip feels a moment of relief thinking he's back to his senses but he cracks one eye open and then the other and she doesn't see any recognition in them. Her heart sinks. 

"Just you and I than aye. Tis how it should be. So which is it love Heaven or Hell? I shouldn't ask we both know the thoughts I had about Colin Murphy mean I'm headed down below."  He sounds weary and resigned.  His eyes drift from her back to the gun at his feet.  “did Billy finally leave me then? Is he safe?” 

Tulip doesn't know what to say. 

Jesse comes back with the key and Cassidy's eyes are closed again. 

"How's he?"

"Still somewhere else." 

Jesse nods he can see it showing now Tulip is just as concerned as he is.

Cass seems mostly out of it as they get him into the motel room, he limps along making a pitiful and pained noise as Jesse helps him. His eyes are open but he's not answering when Tulip or Jesse talk to him and he seems like he's a hundred miles away. Jesse helps him lay on the one old bed in the room.

Tulip grabs some of their clothes and things from the car. She hesitates but then brings the old rifle in too and sets it by the door. 

Jesse unties Cass's boots. He's all bloody, which isn't unusual. It just mean's finding a charity shop or an unattended clothesline and getting him some new things. Cass dresses like a ragamuffin most of the time but he gets bloodstains on things so often it just cost to much to buy him new all the time. 

That also means it's a treat to see him in nice clothes that fit him well. 

The couple of times they've had call to dress up (sneaking into a fancy party because Tulip wanted to feel like a princess and getting into a government office to acquire some blueprints for a lead that didn't pan out) Cass looked so handsome and dashing in the suits they bought for him and then returned that Jesse was majorly distracted the whole time. 

He's got a couple pictures saved on his phone. 

“What should we do about blood for him. He's so out of it we better bring some to him.” Tulip asks in a hushed voice. 

“Animal shelter? pet store? Butcher shop maybe?” Jesse suggests. 

“I don't know if this town will have any of that but I can go look. Will you be alright if I go?” 

“Yeah, I'll just get him cleaned up.”

“If you need anything or anything changes call me. I'll be as quick as I can.” 

“Ok be safe” Tulip smiles at Jesse and glances at Cass.

“Be good Cass don't be too tough on Jesse.” Cassidy blinks slowly at the wall but doesn't make any acknowledgement that he hears her. 

After Tulip goes Jesse wonders how to proceed, he wants to get a look at Cassidy's wounds the one in his shoulder and the one through his leg to see if there is anything odd about them. He could just strip the other man, it certainly wouldn't be the first time he'd seen Cassidy without pants but it feels a little wrong with Cass staring vacantly like he is right now.

“How do you feel about cutoffs Cass? If I can't even them out you could wind up with some Daisy Dukes, Tulip might like that.” Cass doesn't protest so Jesse gets to work. He only bothers cutting Cass's right pant leg for now. He gets it out of the way so he can look. Cass winces and whines but doesn't say anything as Jesse examines his leg. 

It looks pretty normal for a through and through bullet wound. It's still bleeding a bit and Jesse grabs one of the towels from the bathroom, he folds it up and puts it under his leg to soak up the blood. If Cass was human Jesse would be worried about cleaning and stitching it but since he'll heal up fine once he gets some fresh blood in him, Jesse just tries to make him comfortable. 

“Hey bud can I take a look at your shoulder?” Jesse ask, Cassidy doesn't give him anything to go on.

“Well ok, here's the deal, I need to look at your wound and the only way I can do that is if I get you out of your jacket and shirt. You can help me or you can lay there but it's coming off either way.” 

Cassidy instead of doing nothing like Jesse expected rolls over on his side away from Jesse and curls up hands wrapped around himself protectively. 

“Ok then,” Jesse sighs. “It can probably wait just a little bit...” He puts a hand on Cass's shoulder, “get some rest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and reviewing. Editing is on going. A couple more chapters are forthcoming


	5. Chapter 5

Proinsias feels like hell. He doesn't trust what he is seeing or hearing or feeling. It's like everything is mixed up and crashing together. He wants to just sleep and forget. He feels too raw, too exposed, too exhausted to do anything but lay here and try to put himself back together. 

His fingers grip a bullet from his pocket and he chokes back a sob. He examines the tarnished brass thing before sending up a silent apology. 'I'm sorry Billy.' 

It all leaves a hollow feeling in his stomach. He shuts his eyes tight and falls into a rest less sleep. 

Tulip knocks on the motel door and Jesse lets her in. She's holding a couple small paper bags and a cup caddie with some sodas. 

Tulip slides in and Jesse checks outside before shutting and locking the door. Inside the dim room Tulip sets her things on the small table.

“Butcher's blood then?” Jesse assumes since she doesn't seem to have any animals with her. 

“Found a grocery store willing to sell it to me, hope does the trick.” Tulip takes the straw out of one of the sodas and sticks it in the plastic container of blood. 

She finds Cassidy curled up on the bed, eyes closed, hands clasped together in front of his face making it look like he's been praying. 

The bottom of one pant leg is missing and his jean jacket and shirt are in half the left side of both missing, probably in the trashcan. “Jesse did you cut him out of his clothes?” 

“Had to look at the wounds the clothes were bloody anyway, I'll get him new ones.” 

“and?” Tulip tries to peak at Cass's shoulder wound but can't see much from where she's standing with Cass positioned arms pulled in tight like they are. 

“Nothing, nothing strange about either one.” Jesse had thought maybe he would find infection, or hints of poison like weird track marks to explain Cass's odd behavior but everything looked find.

Tulip pursed her lips, “Well hopefully the blood'll help.” 

Proinsias feels a small warm hand on his cold shoulder. He thinks of his Mother though he can't seem to picture her face. He wonders if she's sad or just mad. He imagines she's probably so mad at him she'd cross fire and brimstone to tan his hid in Hell herself. 'Sorry Ma' 

He opens an eye cautiously. It's not his mother, it's the angel. She smiles sweetly at him. He'd like to smile back but he just can't seem to. “For sure there's been some mistake I'm suppose ta be in Hell this is not the bed of hot coals I was promised.” He jokes weakly. 

“Yer not in Hell Cassidy.” She shakes her head and brings something up to his face. “Drink this.”

Tulip holds the blood out to him, he doesn't move to sit up. He looks unsure about it. She holds the straw out for him. “Drink it, it'll help.” 

When he doesn't take it and looks at her strangely she takes the straw and puts it between his lips. “suck.” He narrows his eyes at her but listens to her and does, tentatively at first but then instinct takes over and he has the container drained in no time. 

Jesse watches Cass's thin shoulder as his wounds start healing. 

Cassidy huffs and whimpers as they do. Jesse imagines it must feel weird even painful as the skin and tissues reform. Cass is panting by the end and just looks tired. 

“Good job.” Tulip smiles at their vamp. She puts her hand on his face and strokes his stubbly cheek until he closes his eyes and looks like he's asleep.

Jesse and Tulip take showers and wait. They both silently decided to stay close instead of going out today, they're both anxious to know if Cass is ok. He's quiet on the bed for nearly two hours and then he starts crying out in his sleep. 

Jesse and Tulip have both seen Cass have nightmares before, this was a lot like that with him tossing and turning and bury his face in the pillow. Tulip leans down and can make out 'Billy.' Cass mumbles some other things too but they're either nonsense or maybe Russian she can't tell. 

Jesse gets on the bed next to Cass and starts running his fingers through the vampires hair knowing it comforted his friend before. 

Cassidy feels fingers combing through his hair. He pries his heavy eyelids open just enough to see who it is. Jesse is sitting by his side. Cass relaxes into his touch. 

Jesse hears Cass sigh. He looks down, Cass looks like he's still sleeping but he at least looks peaceful and not like he's in pain. 

Two hours later Jesse's still sitting on the bed with Cassidy who has curled up close to him. Tulip has finished cleaning their guns and is playing solitaire. Cass starts to stir. 

He rolls on to his back and rubs his hands over his face with a groan. Jesse sits up straighter and Tulip crawls up onto the end of the bed and sits there legs crossed waiting. 

Cass opens his eyes and is greeted by both Jesse and Tulip looking at him expectantly. He blinks at them and Tulip holds her breath. “Well?” She asks. 

“Well what?” a dopey grin spreads across his face as he looks between Jesse and Tulip. “Did I miss somethin'? Is it my birthday?” 

“Cass...” Tulip rolls her eyes “do you know us?”

“Well sure I know ya, in the biblical way and all.” He raises his eyebrows at her and she can't hid her smile. 

Jesse sighs with relief. “How do you feel?”

“Good, like new, exceptin' maybe stretched a bit thin, ya know, feeling kind of worn out.” Cass rubs a hand across his shirtless chest.

“Do you want more blood? There's more.” Tulip moves to get it. 

“No no that won't help it, not this." Cass rubs his eyes wearily. "but something to wash this taste out of my mouth would sure be nice.” 

Tulip grabs one of the sodas she got earlier it's about half full. “Here, sorry the ice is melted.”

“S'ok will do the trick.” He swishes the water coke around his mouth and swallows. 

“Do you remember what happened?” Tulip asks looking him over intently. 

“You didn't know us for a while there.” Jesse supplies. 

“You thought I was an angel and kept calling Jesse Billy.”

Cass's expression gets tight and if he was human Jesse thinks he probably would have gotten pale. “Well you are an angel love.” He says slyly. 

“Right... well who's Billy? Were you drugged or poisoned or what? We didn't know what to do.” Tulip has been keeping her cool, holding it together for what seems like forever during all this mess with the vampire hunters and Cass acting weird. She really just wants some answers now and to know he's going to be ok. 

“You did just fine and I'm grateful.” Cass says soberly. Jesse takes the cup from him and sets it aside. “T'anks” Cass sits up on the bed pulling his long three quarters clothed legs in. He moves his arm and stretches out his healed shoulder. 

“So do you know why? Why you said all that stuff about soldiers and running and stuff?” Jesse asks just as curious as Tulip. 

Cass picks at a thread on the ratty comforter on the bed, thinking and then looks over his shoulder at Jesse. “It wasn't drugs or anything...” Cass holds his hand up before Tulip can accuses him anything “Honest... it was probably that.” Cass nods towards the door. 

Jesse and Tulip follow his eyes. 

“What's a gun got to do with this?” Tulip asks seriously, not understanding how an old gun could make someone forget their friends. 

Cass's expression softens. “Because Love that's what we called a Howth, I was carrying one on the day I died.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Tulip thinks Cass might be speaking Russian I was imagining him speaking a little Gaelic, I don't know about him being fluent or anything but maybe knowing a few words, IDk


	6. Chapter 6

“But Cass I'm pretty sure that's a german gun from WW1.” 

“Tis, and when they brought them into Dublin for the Rebellion we called them Howths.”

“Rebellion?”

“Didn't know yer man here was a rebel like Luke Skywalker did you.” Cassidy laughs a bit dryly. 

“You were fighting in a rebellion when you died?” Jesse asks, a hint of surprise and curiously in his question.

“Aye”

“Funny I always thought your skinny ass was turned during that big famine y'all had.” Tulip smirked. 

“Not every skinny Irish vamp was turned during the famine, thank you very much, that was near about half a century before my time.” 

"Well yer still damn skinny." 

"Yeah well there never did seem to be much food even long after the blight." He says with a bitterness that seemed unusual coming from the Vampire. 

Jesse heard what Cass was saying and something about it nagged at him.  "How old did you say you were Cass?" 

"One hundred and nineteen."  

"And you were holding a gun from WWI when you died? WWI only happened about a hundred years ago." Jesse states. 

"It did."

"So how then?" Something wasn't adding up in Jesse's mind. 

"How what? I died when a vampire made me dinner."  

"No,"  Jesse shakes his head it wasn't about how he died rather how he was so old. “I just thought you were turned into a vampire a hundred and nineteen years ago."

"Oh so I was a hundred and nineteen year old vampire..."  Cass goes back to picking at the bedspread. "Yeah no I get the confusion.  No I died a hundred years ago while the Great War was going on."

"But that would mean..." Cass looked up just in time to see the understanding dawn on the other's faces.  "Oh shite..."  He should have just left it alone but no he had to run his mouth.

"You're nineteen?" Jesse questions with slack jawed surprise. 

While Tulip get quickly over the surprise revelation and goes straight to teasing delightedly "practically a baby, hardly out of pampers." 

Cass goes on the defense. "No you see there's a hundred before the nineteen.  I'm the furthest thing from a child I could be." 

"Right."  Tulip nods rather sarcastically. She doesn't know whether to laugh or kiss Cass and the pouty expression on his face.  

Now that she is really looking she could see the youth in him especially when he smiled.  But he really seemed ageless old in some moments and young in others and then well "You don't look like any nineteen year old I've seen.  As a vampire shouldn't you like stay frozen the same age like forever?"

"Alright, one: this isn't interview with a vampire, two: being immortal and staying forever young are two different things.  Maybe if I bathed in human blood or drank a virgin everyday or some shit but who's got time fer that. I've got much more enjoyable things to do with my time like.”

“What like sleeping all day and drinking all night.” Jesse throws out. 

“And things, things with you two, the finding of God and what not and … and lastly, I'm being honest about this, age was a bit of a different number a hundred years ago.”

“What does that even mean?” Tulip raises an eyebrow at him. Cassidy raises an eyebrow right back at her. 

“I came of age before child labor laws. It wasn't all go to school and learn your maths and spelling and come home and play video games. I worked from the time I was old enough to wipe my own ass and let me tell you I weren't part of the leisure class neither, no, it was hard work. It was back breaken, crippling work that.  I've still got scars." 

Jesse and Tulip look at him with blank faces.  "Was it up hill both ways?"

"In the snow?"

Cass blinks at them "Well in the fog fer sure, but come on I'm being serious."

Jesse scoffs. "You mean to tell us you can work, like you've actually got a skill. You could have fooled me."  

"Ha. Ha. I know a thing or two about a thing or two, maybe not air conditioners but tings, Padre."

"I don't believe him do you?"  Tulip stage whispers to Jesse. 

"Nah."

"Well that's not fair,  I'll have you know the Cassidy's of Church Street were fine plasterers yours truly included." 

There was so much information in the statement that Tulip and Jesse took a second to process it, when they did.  

"You grew up on a 'Church Street', you're kidding." Jesse laughs. 

"Did you mean to say plastered and not plasterers."   Tulip adds. 

"Wait 'the Cassidys' Cassidy's your last name?" Jesse asks seriously. 

"Oh Bullocks."  Cassidy could see the questions coming.  

"What's you name then?" The preacher asks. 

"Look I don't want to talk about it."

"It's probably something really Irish like Patrick or Colin or Shamus."   Tulip practically giggles at the thought.

"My Christian name isn't... I don't...I've been just Cassidy for for a hundred years now and that suits me just fine."

"Is it something really old fashioned like Enoch or Reginald or Francis?"   Tulip guesses again. Cass grimaces. 

"No no no just forget about it."  He sighs.  "Here I am feeling out of sorts and you taken advantage..."  Cass looks at them both with big sad eyes. 

Jesse did feel bad that Cass hadn't been feeling well and they were prying, it was all just joking really. He was about to suggest that he and Tulip go out and give Cass some quiet time when Cass continued.  

"Making fun of a poor kid not even out of his teens yet. Shame on you."  He has a devilish grin on his face and it reaches his eyes this time.  Tulip throws her arms around his neck and practically tackles Cassidy with her hug.  "Oh Cass you dingbat."

Cass smiles and breaths in the pretty scent of Tulip's clean and lotioned skin as she hugs him close. "You are gonna tell us your name though right." 

"Not if I can help it." He says lowly. 

"I'm gonna find out." Cass knows she'll try. 

"Good luck with that." 

"Hum Cass, I'm sorry...I just... who was Billy?" Jesse feels awkward asking but if he doesn't ask now it'll only be more awkward later. 

Tulip sits back and Cass answers plainly. "My brother." 

"Your Brother." Jesse lets the thought sink in. 

"You had a brother?" Tulip and Jesse didn't have any brothers or sisters only each other. 

"Had siblings love, Catholic family you know."  

"Cass you were worried, like really worried Billy'd be killed, did he make it?"

Cass was quiet for a second and Tulip sits close to Cass their shoulders touching.  "I don't know I never had the courage to find out, it would have felt too much like my fault if he didn't."

There was a sobering quiet that hung in the air.  Tulip moved in close to Cass's side and let her forehead touch his.  She reached out and took Jesse's hand in hers, She knew he understood the guilt of feeling responsible for a loved ones death. 

"It's ok, you're here with us now."  She offers though she's not sure if that's a comfort or not. 

"What should we do with the gun?"  Jesse wonders out loud. 

"Pawn it? Scrap it? Burn it?" Tulip suggests. 

"No...” Cassidy speaks up “ it's not her fault that just the right circumstances sent me into some sort ta vivid flashback.  It's unlikely to happen again, we can keep her.  I've still got bullets."  In fact he's still got one in his hand, he's thinking about maybe saving it. Maybe just for a little while. 

"But no shirt." Jesse points out. 

"ahh yeah no shirt."

"You can borrow one of mine till Jesse finds you something new." Tulip offers. 

"Can it be the blue one with the bird on it?" Cass asks so suddenly eager that Jesse has to laugh. 

"No, I've seen you eyeing it, you better keep your hands off it's mine and I don't want it stained with blood or booze or ketchup. You can wear the green tank or the yellow crop top."  Tulip climbs off the bed and Cassidy follows.

"Can I try them on?"  Cass stands in his half cut off pants trying to get a look in Tulips duffle. "Can I try on the blue one?"  

Jesse rolls his eyes and checks to see if he's got any cash.  He finds three bucks in his wallet.  That might be enough to get a t-shirt at the Salvation Army store for Cass, he's not sure about pants.  

"I'm going out."  Jesse tells the others. He crosses the room and puts his hand on Cassidy's healed shoulder. The older...younger man turns to him.  Jesse moves his hand up to the back of Cass's head, his fingers running through the vampire's short dark hair. Cass wraps his arms around Jesse and Jesse kisses his cheek and forehead. Cassidy holds him tight for a second before easing up.  "I'll be back soon, ok?"

“Right, ok Jesse.” Cass says a bit less confidently then Jesse would have liked. Tulip takes Cass's hand in her's and leans over and kisses Jesse. 

“We'll be fine. Hurry back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, Comments are appreciated


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of a history nerd so this chapter is a lot of geeky historic construction talk and Jesse and Tulip slowly learning more about Cass's human life and the time period he was turned during.

Two days later, Jesse drove the Chevelle through the night as Tulip slept in the back and Cass rode shotgun. 

Cass was being helpful keeping Jesse awake going on and on about everything under the sun. Currently he was rambling about how he'd seen a woman at the convenience store actually checking the dates on all the jugs of milk. “An actually bloody milk maid just like in The Clerks movie can you believe it...” 

Jesse chuckles. Things had been going well the past couple days, they hadn't seen hid nor hair of the vampire hunters and Cass hadn't had anymore flash backs. 

Jesse and Tulip had discussed what they'd learned about Cassidy and it had really only made them more curious. They didn't think Cass would be too forth coming about that part of his history. So they'd decided when they got a chance to hit a library or got a good internet connection they'd look a few things up. Neither one of them really knew anything about Irish history. 

“I think I could do that ya know work at a convenience store, just sit behind the counter all night and get people their smokes and what not. Easy money.”

“No one's going to trust you with their cash register Cass.” One look at Cass and most people could tell he was trouble. They might not know just what kind of trouble. But definitely trouble. 

“hum yeah, probably true.” Cass shrugs. “Wouldn't want to right now anyway too much to do.” Jesse can see him smirk as he glances in his direction. 

“You've had jobs though over the years haven't you?” Jesse keeps his eyes on the road as he asks. 

“Oh sure haven' a job helps pass the time here and there and getting paid is a bonus. Hustling and whoring get a bit boring every now and again.” Jesse turns to Cass with his eyebrows raised. Cass shakes his head “Don't ask.” 

Jesse doesn't, he knows from what Cass has told him that the vampire has had a dark and colorful century. There are some things he just didn't want to know. “Did you ever do any plastering like you did... before.” 

“Funny thing that, not too many people looking for a nightshift plasterer.” Yeah Jesse didn't think about that. That kind of construction work wasn't usually done at night. “and why would I want ta do that anyway, messy dangerous work?” 

“Dangerous? Really?” Cassidy had said that it had been 'backbreaking and crippling' but Jesse thinks that might be a bit of an exaggeration. 

“Have you never worked with plaster or cement?” 

“Cement once. I don't remember it being dangerous. it was a pain, I threw out the bucket I'd used rather than clean it.” 

“Well aren't you a lucky one, just throw out the bucket. For sure I'd do that now but a hundred years ago that wasn't an option.” 

“Tell me about it.” Cassidy scoffs from the passenger seat. Jesse turns quickly to Cass just catching his eye before turning back to the road. “I'm serious I want to know.” 

“Well if yer asking...” Cass doesn't sound very sure. 

“Unless you don't want to talk about it.” Driving makes it hard to see if Cassidy is wants to talk about it or not. Jesse doesn't want to push but he is curious. 

“No yeah, I can, that is if yer interested.”

“Yes.” He hopes he sounds sincere. 

“Ok sure... it's been a long time since I thought about it. It was my Granda's business he learn the trade from a master when he was young and taught my father and the rest. 

Everything was plastered in those days, there was no drywall back then. So there was usually work to be found. We could work in some of the poorest homes in the city and in the poshest government buildings.

I worked with my Da, my brother Billy, some uncles and cousins. I was the youngest of the lot for a long while before my cousins had youngens old enough to be put to work.” Jesse smiled at the thought of a little Cass. The idea that the vampire would have been the youngest seems funny to him. Jesse can just imagine a dark hair boy all knees and elbows. 

“I started working as a runner, carrying water and plaster and tings.”

“That doesn't sound that dangerous.”

“Yeah but I was a scrawny small thing.”

“Nooo.” Jesse says sarcastically.

“Aye yeh go on make fun. But how many times did I climb up and down the scaffolding till my arms felt like lead too heavy to lift and my knees felt like jelly and me still having to go back up twenty feet in the air. Barefooted and with no such thing as a safety harness. 

Drying rough plaster on the walls would scrape my hands and legs and I'd bleed while crawling through the scaffolding in narrow stairwells 

But me in my short pants moved up from carrying things to mixing the plaster. That's lime, water, sand and often horse hair. Had to get that just right, be very precise otherwise it'd dry too fast or too slowly which would cause cracking and all kinds of problems, including me getting thwacked. Cuffed good by my Da or an uncle or cousin.” 

Cass rubs at his ear like he's remembering getting one of those smacks and then asks as if the thought's just come to him. “You ever had a chemical burn?” 

“Once, Tulip and me were using battery acid during a job. It wasn't fun. Why?”

“The lime and water in plaster create a chemical reaction when they mix. Plaster can actually burn skin until it dries. I'd get chemical burns on my hands and sometimes my face and arms from the plaster.” 

“That's wild I never would have imagined that.” 

“It's just the way it's always been done since the Egyptians or the Romans or somebody. I know they've changed the recipe a bit now but there's still the risk of being burnt.” 

“Even with that you were good at it.”

“I was, I got my hawk and trowel.” He sounded proud for a second before realizing Jesse didn't know what the was talking about. “...hum, what you hold the plaster with and use to put it on. I could climb the scaffolding with the best of them and lay the plaster on smooth as you like. I was well on my way to being a fine craftsman like me Da and me Granda. Worked on some grand buildings in Dublin, forty foot high ceiling, scaffolding all the way up, it was a sight to see. Never boring, not with the lads all working...” 

“and then the Rebellion happened.” The words slipped out of Jesse's mouth before he could think to stop them. He gripes the heel tight and glances at Cassidy. 

“It was doomed from the start.” Cass says in a dark voice. “There was no way we could take on the British even with so many of their soldiers fighting over on the continent. We knew it too...It was just we'd walk into those grand building in our city and know that we weren't welcomed. Not really. Unwanted guests in our own country. Living knowing that it was just going to continue on and on unless someone took a stand. Then men in dublin started organizing. My Ma was so mad that Billy and I went to the meetings. 

She felt it was best to just leave well enough alone. She thought all we wanted would come eventually but the English had been dangling the hope of home rule over our heads for so long and playing the Protestants against the Catholics to keep us in our place, keep us second class and they were never going to give us what we wanted, never going to give back the country...” Cassidy's voice raises and then he stops abruptly, sounding a bit sheepish when he he continues. 

“I... I'm sorry Padre... didn't know I still felt so strongly about it.” He lets out a ragged breath and looks around the for something to fidget with. They smoked the last cigarette in the car an hour ago so when he finds a fast food napkin on the floor he settles for ripping it methodically into pieces.”

When they finally reached a gas station after a long stretch of quiet, dirt and tumbleweeds. Cassidy is out of the car in a flash mumbling something about cigarettes and Gatorade.

Jesse watches him go then looks in the rearview mirror and finds Tulip looked back at him. They share a serious look mostly filled with concern. 

Tulip breaks away first. “I'll go make sure he's got money.” 

Jesse nods and gets out to pump gas. 

In the store Tulip finds Cass back by the refrigerate cases. He's standing very still in front of one. She goes to the case next to him and pulls out a coke. He does a double take “Tulip yer up. Can yah tell me why it is they don't have blue Gatorade here?” He seems personally offended by the absence of it. 

Tulip roles her eyes but smiles and grabs a bottle out if the case. “You like orange don't you.” 

“I do just Love...” Cass glares at the Gatorade in her hand. “just not right now.”

“Ok...well how about Powerade? They've got purple.” Tulip points out. 

“Yeah alright, I suppose.” Cass shoves his hands in his pockets and kicks at the floor just like a mopey teenager, it's cute, she thinks as she gets the drink out of the case for him. She chuckles as she does. 

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, I just like you darling." That gets a coy smile out of him. She puts her hand on the small of his back and leads him to the front of the store. 


	8. Chapter 8

“Well that explains that I guess.” Tulip scrolls through the Wikipedia page on Irish history as Jesse looks over her shoulder at the library computer.

“What, what's been explained?”

They'd left Cassidy sleeping in the motel room for the day with plans to look around the city for a pool game or poker game something they could win some cash in but it was early for that yet so after wondering around aimlessly for a while they decided to go into the library.

It was the first time since they'd learned more about Cass that they had gotten the chance to look some things up.

“The other night when he was talking about his life before he was a vampire and then he went in the store he got worked up about some orange Gatorade. Seemed odd at the time, and I'm thinking like why's he having a meltdown about Gatorade of all things. Turns out Orange and Green are big colors in Ireland. Like it's serious or something.”

“They are the colors of the flag.” Jesse supplies like he's telling her something she doesn't know.

“Yeah well, listen here smarty, the orange represents the Protestants and the green represents the Catholics and the...white in the center of the flag represents the peace that might one day come between them.” She reads from the screen. “Well damn. I didn't realize they had problems like that over there. Apparently they're still pissed at each other.”

Cass had said when Jesse had first met him how he wished all these 'faith types would call it a day' Jesse wonders if that's why.

Jesse reads over Tulip's shoulder and catches as much as he can as she scrolls. The English, the penal laws, Rebellion of 1798, the famine, the Fenians...

“Here it is...” Tulip points to the section they were interested in. “The Easter Rising 1916. Gosh you'd probably have like these guys Jesse as wrapped up in rebellion and religious imagery as they were.”

“Well I know I like one of them.” He smiles and she elbows him playfully as they read about the world Cassidy came from.

After absorbing all the information they can from wiki page. It’s a pretty long page with a lot of names and politics that they aren’t familiar with so it gets confusing. Tulip takes some notes on a piece of paper of things she’d like to look up later, Church Street, King Street, The Liffy, The General Post Office, and they head out. 

After Jesse takes a twenty off a man betting that he can bullseye three darts in a row and Tulip makes fifty playing blackjack. They head back to the hotel to see if Cassidy is up yet. The Vampire isn't in the room when Jesse and Tulip get there. Jesse finds a note scribbled on scrap of motel stationary. 'Gone to the bar'

"It doesn't say which bar does it?" Tulip calls from the bathroom.

 

"Nope. There is a smiley face though."

 

"Well I'm sure we'll run into him eventually." 

 

They do. After Tulip wipes the floor with some guys in a poker game at one bar in town they find Cassidy at the next one playing pool against a big biker, and another biker with a big mustache watching. 

He calls out to them and waves from across the bar we he sees them come in. Tulip waves back and Jesse asks the bartender for three beers.

"Hey Limey are you gonna stand there waving or are you gonna play?" Cass’s opponent asks impatiently.

Cassidy looks insulted as he turns to the man. "One: who are you callen' a Limey? Because it's not me, I'm no Brit and two: that's rather sportsmanlike of you." 

"Cause a druggy scarecrow like you'd know about sports." The biker with the handlebar mustache chimes in snickering at the idea.

"I will have you know, I know a ting or two about sports boyo."

The biker who’s waiting on Cass huffs and rolls his eyes. "Would you just shut up and take your shot."

"Oh aye, I will." Cassidy leans over the table and lines up his cue with the cue ball but stops before taking the shot and stands up to talk again.

"I was a hurler. Back in Dublin. Lads all running after a ball with bats, swinging at your head. No pads or helmets then, had to be fecking brave and a bit crazy. Now that's sport." He says with a hint of pride. 

"Fucking crazy is right. I don't have a clue what you're talking about you prick. But take the damn shot before I get fed up." The biker growls,

Tulip could tell from across the bar that Cassidy was hustling the biker. Coming up and leaning on the table next to the one they were playing on she could see now he was playing the even more dangerous game of annoy the bikers. 

"Oh right my shot... we agreed on what fifty to the winner?" Cassidy asks and then lines up his shot again.

Tulip can see that Cassidy's got a number of solid balls on the table while the biker only has the eight ball left. When Cass’s carefully lined up shot glances off the five ball and bounces off the bumper she gets a twinge of nerves in the pit of her stomach. 

It is exhilarating.

The biker steps up to the table, lines up his shot easily and sinks the black ball. He slams his stick on the table and smirks triumphantly. "I win pay up."

Cass holds up his hand in surrender. 

Jesse sets the beers down next to Tulip and tenses preparing to step in if things go sideways, like they do. But Cass pulls a fifty from his pocket. Apparently he's been at this a while already today. 

The burly biker goes to snatch the bill from Cass's hand but Cassidy jerks it out of his reach.

"What about another..." Cass starts to ask.

"Game with you, No. I've had about all the Limey nonsense I can take." 

"Not a Limey." Cass says through clenched teeth. "No, not pool, something quicker. Let's arm wrestle. One go, winner gets double." 

The bikers both bark with laughter. "You. You want to arm wrestle?” “What have you been smoking? I have to get me some of that." 

"Ha yeah out of my head, I am. Just a shit faced Irishman. Irish. Man." Cass grins big.

"Your boney skinny annoying ass is about to be broke." 

"So you'll do it?" Cass bounces on the balls of his feet. Jesse could tell Cass was excited about something at least he didn’t seem too broken up about losing fifty bucks

"Sure why the hell not. It's a win win for me." The Biker decided. 

Cassidy puts his elbow on the pool table. The biker follows and they clasp hands.

"Break him in half Dirk." The mustached friend cheers on. 

"On three,” Cassidy says and he and Dirk the biker ready themselves. “one...two...three."

Cassidy feels Dirk pushing but his arm doesn't budge. Dirk looks confused and Cass grins with too many teeth and a wicked glint in his eye before slamming Dirk's arm onto the table. 

Dirk the biker cries out with surprise and pain as his elbow makes a popping noise it shouldn't have. 

Cass stands back triumphantly. "If you're going to call me names you nob nosed wanker I'm a Mick not a Limey get it right. Now pay up." 

Cass holds his hand out. Dirk who Tulip thought did have a nose that resembled a nob holds his injured arm and scouffs. “Go to Hell.”

Jesse does step up now "You agreed to the terms."

"I didn't know he had that junkie super strength or some shit. Probably on one of those new drugs that gets people all juiced up and ripping people's arms off." 

“I am not.” Cass looks offended. “I’ve never touch that stuff I'm a traditionalist when it comes to recreationals.”

“Look he won fair and square.” Jesse says knowing it’s not exactly true with Cass’s vampire strength but the bikers didn't need to know that.

The bikers aren’t having any of it and step up square to Jesse and Cass showing off just how much size they have over the other two men. 

“Do we have problem?” Tulip steps between Cass and Jesse and looks the bikers up and down. The bikers sneer at her.

“You all need to back off this is between me and the Limey prick.” The biker says and Cass snarls.

Tulip remains calm and takes the lead. “We don't want no trouble, pay my friend here and there won't be any.”

“Yeah and what are you gonna do?” The bikers obviously believed that even though they were outnumbered they could take the three odd strangers. 

Tulip smiled up at them a sweet smile that twisted into something menacing. “You should ask yourself if you're fond of both of your nuts because if this goes down you're gonna walk out of here with only one.”

“oooohhh, like that fella in Tucson.” Cass winced and put his hands protectively in front of his own parts. “Crushed testicle.”

“Or that one in Bowling Rock that took a broken bottle to the balls I doubt he can ride a bike anymore.” Jesse adds.

“I was thinking more like that dude over in Phoenix who’s hanging fruit met the hard cold surface of a cue ball just like this one.” Tulip pulled the cue ball from behind her back and held it up so light caught it.

“Oh yeah, I don’t think it was just his testicle he lost that night. “ Cass holds a hand over his right eye. “What a mess.” 

“Hate to see that happen to anyone else.” Jesse shakes his head. “But agreements are agreements for a reason.” 

Tulip sees the bikers resolve start to crack, maybe they aren’t as tough as the thought they were. 

“So what’ll it be fella’s? Do I get to add another ball to my count?” Tulip with a bubbliness that seems to unsettle the other men. Who look at one another.

“This is stupid. You all are crazy… It’s not worth it Dirk. I’ve got an investment meeting in the morning and you need to get some ice on the elbow.” Mustache broke and threw the money down on the pool table. 

Dirk glared at the three of them and both the bikers who were actually accountants playing biker turned and left with a huff. 

Cass broke the tension by laughing like what just happened was the funniest thing he’d ever witnessed in his one hundred and nineteen years. “Would you get a load of that…” his laughter turned into gasps and giggling that made Jesse and Tulip laughing too.

“Cass you big idiot.” Tulip tease.

“Who’s a big idiot, I just made us a hundred dollars.”

“You could have just beat the man at pool.” Jesse hands Cass a beer.

“And what fun would that have been, Jesse, after him calling me names and insulting me and all.” 

“Did you get your feelings hurt?” Tulip continues to tease gently. 

“Aye, I did it stung a little.” Cass says dramatically. 

“Come here.” Tulip opens her arms and Cass hugs her tight before picking her up and twirling her around. 

“Where are we off to next?” He asks after righting Tulip on the ground. She laughs and grabs her beer from the table. 

“Well we’ve got gas money now we can drive through the night and see where that gets us.” Jesse downs the last of his beer and Tulip digs the keys out of his jeans front pocket.

“Sounds like a plan boys.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tulip and Jesse learn more. 
> 
> Editing was fast and dirty let me know if there are any glaring errors and I will fix them. Thank you for reading.

Three towns and a bar fight later, Cassidy is sleeping off being brained with a whiskey bottle and Tulip and Jesse visit the biggest library she’s ever been in.   
   
“Place this big aught to have a big history section.  You think they’ve got books on Irish history too?”  
   
“I don’t know, probably mostly books about Custer and the Indians, the Louisiana Purchase and the like.”  Jesse says while scratching at the bandage on his arm.  Tulip swats at his hand and makes up her mind.  
   
“I’m gonna check anyway.”  Jesse nods and turns towards the computers.  “I’m gonna be over here.”  Tulip has a feeling he’s probably gonna find a place to curl up and take a nap, she should have left him at the motel with Cass.   
   
There must be a million books.  Tulip isn’t sure which way she should go and keeps looking at the labels on the shelves hoping to find something to direct her.  Not finding it she takes the next best option, not her favorite but it’ll do.  She steps in front of the next glasses wearing, book carrying person coming here way.  A young woman that almost if Tulip squints reminds her of Emily.   
“Where’s the history section?”  Tulip asks abruptly.    
   
“That... that way.”  The young woman points.  “All the way back on the right in the 900s.”  
   
“hum thanks.”  Tulip nods curtly and makes a beeline for the back.  Once there she finds there’s still like a million book to look at.  She starts to wonder if this was a stupid idea.   
   
She walks down the aisle and reads the small labels on the shelves.  Ancient History, African history, Egyptian history, Asian history, Western History, American History, British History, Holy Shit Irish History.  She can’t believe they actually have a section.  There are two long shelves dedicated to the history of Ireland and Tulip scans them to see if there’s anything she might want to read.   
   
She finds one on the history of the IRA which she knows got its start with Easter Rising after all the reading she’d done on wiki.  There’s also a book just on the Easter Rising, it’s small and she thinks she might be able to pocket it when she leaves.  She grabs them and sits down on the floor to take a look.  
   
She flips through the IRA book first, it’s really only the first part of the book that interests her, it doesn’t have really anything she hasn’t read before and she flips to the index to see if she missed anything then tosses the it aside and starts to look at the little book when something on the bottom shelf catches her eye.  
   
It's a big book, an oversized one so it’s been put on the bottom shelf.  The spine is kelly green and glossy and it looks new. She picks it up and in gold letters over a black and white photo of what she recognizes as the General Post Office it says 1916: The Hundred Year Anniversary. It's a new book.   
   
Tulip opens the big book.  It’s filled with pictures she’s never seen online.  They must have collected all kinds of new stuff for the book.  She flips through the pages. The pictures are mostly printed big and clear.  She sees men with cocked hats and some with odd facial hair.  Rebels lined up outside the Post Office with makeshift uniforms and Howths, like the one Cass said he had.   
   
She examines every face in the pictures.  She’s never asked him exactly where he was during the whole thing so it’s possible he could be in any of these pictures.  She looks closely.   
   
She sees pictures of the British troops lined up hundreds strong and sees the gunships on the river and wonders what the heck Cass and the other Rebels thought they were going to accomplish.   
   
Towards the back of the book there is a section of photos submitted by relatives of those who fought in the Rising.  

These pictures aren’t as big and clear but they're interesting.  There are some portraits of men and boys and even some women. Then there are group shots.  The pictures have names under them and a little cross by them if they died during the Rising.   
   
Tulip searches each face, not sure if the Cass from a hundred years ago will look like her Cass.  She scans each name hoping a Cassidy will jump out.   
   
Her eyes can’t help but jump ahead of her place in her excitement, as they jump from the left page to the right, her heart jumps and she does a double take.  
   
“Holy Flippin’ Hell!”  She exclaims in shock. She rips the page from the book, leaving it and the rest on the floor.  She grinned like the cat who caught the canary as she practically skips out of the aisle.  
   
Tulip had been smiling too much and not saying why since she came and woke him up from his nap at the library and told him they needed to get back to the motel now.   
   
He’d thought maybe something was wrong with how insistent she was, but she kept telling him everything was fine.    
   
Now as they roll up on their room she seems nearly giddy and bounds from the car towards Cass who is sitting under the roof’s overhang in the shade smoking.  
   
“How’s it than Love?”  He greets her looking over his sunglasses at Tulip as she walks towards him all smiles. 

“Oh fine, just fine how are you Pro-n-sias?”   Tulip smiles delighted with herself when Cass who had been leaning his chair back and taking a drag losses his balance in shock and falls back, chair slipping out from under him.  He lands in a heap on the ground, long legs and arms sticking out in all direction.  
   
“Cass” Jesse says as he comes around the car in a voice that seems to ask if Cass is alright and what the hell just happened all at once.   
   
Tulip helps Cass up and even straightens his sunglasses.  He holds a hand to his head and raises an eyebrow at her.  “Where did You find that name?”   
   
“Wouldn’t you like to know.  Prone-sias.”  She smiles coyly.   
   
“What name? What’s going on?” Jesse asks lost.  
   
“Yer not even pronouncing it right.”  Cassidy scrunches his nose up in disgust.  Which Tulip finds immensely cute.  
   
“Good enough to get you going, Proi-niss.”   
   
“Uuuuggh.” Cass rolls his eyes behind the sunglasses.   
   
“Pron-ias? Is that... is that your name?”  Jesse attempts to say what is apparently Cass’s real name.  
   
“It’s pronounced Pron-cias.”  Cass rubs his temple and picks up the chair that’s still lying on the ground.   
   
“What kind of name is Pron-chase?”  Jesse asks and Cass groans again.   
   
“You should know Padre, it’s a good saint name.”  Cass leans against the building, puts the sunglasses away and puts what’s left of his cigarette behind his ear.   
   
“Can’t say I’ve ever heard of a Saint Pron-Chase.”  Jesse looks skeptical.   
   
“Proinsias.”  Cass corrects again. “Well sure you have he’s a popular bloke he’s the fella always shown with all the birds and animals all around ‘im.”  
   
“birds and animals?” Tulip raises her eyebrow now.   
   
Jesse thinks for a minute, Catholic saints aren’t his specialty.  “You mean Saint Francis?”  
   
“Yeah that’s it, that’s him.” Cass agrees, his memory jogged.   
   
“Your name is Francis?” Tulip giggles.   
   
“Hey now, I didn’t die fighting the British so you could go anglicizing a perfectly good Irish name.” Cass crosses his arms over his chest, Jesse and Tulip can see he’s starting to get defensive.   
   
“Sooo Pron-cias then.”  Jesse makes an effort to get it right.   
   
“It’s Cassidy.”  He says pointedly.  
   
“Yeah we know Cass,” Tulip nods. 

Cass gives her a small smile.  “Where in the world did you even find that name though?”      
   
Tulip smiles done picking on him, almost. “It's funny that you got such a crazy name everyone else in this picture's Thomas and Billy and James and Liam and Robert...” She gets the torn page out of her pocket and unfolds it.

She smooths it out and steps in between Jesse and Cass holding it up so they can both see. 

Cass's expression goes from confusion to wide eyed shock. “but...” He leans in over her shoulder to get a better look, he can't believe his eyes. 

“There was a book at the library, a new one, for the Anniversary of all your Easter Rising stuff with lots of never before published pictures ones from family and stuff.”   Tulip explains.

Cass seems to be amazed by what he's seeing, Jesse looks on trying to catch up. 

Tulip points to a picture of a group of young men, for Jesse's benefit. 

Some of the men are standing and some sitting on an outside set of stairs, one man leaned against the railing in the back is a thin young man with, dark hair and his brimmed hat pushed back on his head.  He wears a dark colored vest over a light colored button up shirt with the tall collar buttoned all the way up.  He isn’t looking at the camera like most of the men are.  He's looking off to the left with mischievous eyes. His mouth is turned up just enough to be called a smile.  It is a smile Jesse knows.   
   
He marvels at the familiar man in the hundred year old photo.  “Wow.”  
   
“I know right, I couldn’t believe it when I saw found it.”  Tulip smiles.  
   
Cassidy is looking hard at the picture, and trying not to get emotional over the fact that there were faces looking back at him that he thought he’d never see again.  “Hum.”  He clears his throat and wipes his sleeve under his nose.   
   
Jesse reads the caption under the picture, there he finds along with Proinsias Cassidy, Billy Cassidy.   Thomas Cassidy, Liam Cassidy, Jesse smiles, then he looks up at Cass to ask which one Billy is and he sees Cass struggling.   
   
“Hey…”  He moves and puts his arm around Cass’s shoulder.  “You ok?”  
   
“It’s just odd is all.”  Cass takes in a shaky breath.  “Looks like ghosts ta me.”   
   
Tulip bites her lip “I guess it must be kind of weird for you.  But Cass did you read the caption.  Them little crosses by the names, like the one by yours, they mean ‘died during the Easter Rising.’  There isn’t one by Billy’s name.  Cass, Billy lived.” 

Cass moved in closer, till all three of them were tightly huddled together so he can get a better look.   
   
He sees what she's talking about and lets out a sigh of relief, “Tis grand, that.” He says softly.   
   
“Which one is he in the picture Cass?”  Jesse dying of curiosity finally asks.     
   
“Oh, he’s the wanker who thinks he can impress all the girls with him having his tie all done up and straight and his hair parted neat.”  He points to one of the young men standing on the steps.   
   
“Did you just call your brother a wanker?” Tulip asks surprised.   
   
“In a brotherly way.”   Cass explains with a smirk. Tulip shrugs.   
   
“Why aren’t you looking at the camera? What were you looking at?”  Jesse asks.  
   
“I don’t rightly remember,  I got distracted I guess.”  
   
“You? Nooo.”  Tulip quips.   
   
“They told us to hold still for the picture. I tried, I really did, but you know…still it’s not bad, is it.  I wasn’t sure what it would look like at the time.  It was a big deal I’d never had my picture taken.”   
   
“You’d never had your picture taken.”  
   
“No, it wasn’t often a plasterer’s sons got asked to stand for a picture. It was something that was pretty exclusive in those days.” 

“Who are the others in the picture?”  Tulip asks.  
   
“Some cousins, some neighbors.”  Cass smiles fondly. “We were working on the new policeman's barracks in 1915 when they took that. Me and all the lads.”

It's an interesting feeling having the ghosts of his past swirling all around him. When he had the flashback after finding the Howth he felt them but suddenly seeing the picture and their faces it all comes back to him so clear.   
   
He's still keeping one bullet in his pocket, he digs it out and rolls it in his fingers. 

“We didn't have enough bullets.” He says quietly, remembering. 

“What's that?” Tulip asks. 

“For the rising. They got the guns in but not enough bullets.” Tulip realizes what he's talking about and looks at Jesse. Understanding passes between them. 

“That meant we'd build the barricades but we could only defend them for so long, you had be discerning with the shots you took or there'd be no bullets left. Unless ye could take 'em off the dead.

We only had a handful left between Billy and I in the wee dark hours of Saturday before the sun came up. There had been heavy fighting in the area the day before and into the night. 

We heard the British were through volleying with us Volunteers and they were rushing barricades. 

We were exhausted and with so little ammunition Billy and I decided to fall back and take positions with a bit more cover. We could fire just as well from a window. 

As we hurried along the dark street an older lady sympathetic to the cause opened her door to us. 

And didn't I think it was a bit of luck...she ran the inn on Church Street, whiskey on the bar and all. 

Inside we found people, neighbors, huddled together around the wood stove trying sleep despite their fear. The woman, old Mrs. Bailey I think her name was, gave us bread and beer but before we could fill our bellies. A stern knock sounded at the door. 

She told us to hide, to put the guns out of sight and huddle with the woman and children but word had traveled from North King Street. We knew there was no surrendering, no denying our involvement the British soldiers were executing any man or boy they came across. 

The only option we had was to run. 

As we made to bolt for the back door the soldiers were pushing the door open and flying past the old woman and upsetting all the little ones who set about crying, wailing like banshees. 

Bit of foreshadowing for ya, if'in ya hear a banshee wailing it's a death omen ya know. 

There was suddenly lightning shooting through my leg. I'd never been shot before and it was a terrifying pain. I scrambled for the back door that Billy had already gone through and got the one shot in my chamber off before falling out the back door after him. 

Billy took my arm over his shoulder and dragged me through the alley. I knew any second the soldiers would come tearing out the back after us but they never did. I don't know what ole Mrs. B did but we got away.  
   
We just kept going. They probably could have followed the trail of blood I was leaving. I begged Billy to stop. He said, I can almost hear 'em now. “You'll be in a bad way soon if we stop.”

I was already in a bad way. For sure I don't know but I don't think I would have made it to Sunday even if the vamp didn't make me it's dinner. Bullet must ta hit an artery or something as much blood as there was. 

I told Billy to leave me. To get away, that I was only slowing him down. He wouldn't do it. He joked that Ma would kill him if he did and that's true she was a tough woman you never wanted to be on her bad side.   
Billy dragged me bleeden' and stumblen' all the way to the river. I don't know how no one spotted us. It wasn't the best place to be there were gun boats on the Liffy, there were soldiers all around. It all felt hopeless.   
I leaned against the railing swaying and shivering, my sight getting dark around the edges. I started to tell Billy once more to go and leave me when my bleeding leg was jerked out from under me. It was so sudden and quick I barely had time to cry out in pain before cold water rushed over my head and into my lungs.” Cassidy shivers.   
“The next morning I crawled out of the Liffy and the sunlight burned my skin and I hid under the bridge until dark. Then, scared and confused I ran and made my way to the America.” 

Cass held the bullet in his hand up and looked at it. “I don't think I've ever really talked about that day.” 

Jesse looks at him affectionately “It feels weird to say, because of what you went through, but I'm glad you wound up here, with us.” 

“Yeah Cass.” Tulip grins. 

“Yeah me too.” Cass admits. “It's good to know that Billy lived. Really good. T'anks.”

“Happy to help... Proincias.” kisses him on the cheek and throws her arms around him before he can react. 

“SO about those names, How come they're all Liam and Thomas and Billy and you wound up Proinsias?”  Jesse asks honestly.  
   
“Look I don’t want to talk about it, I got enough of it before I died.” Cass starts to squirm.   
   
“Billy’s such a normal name, what were your other sibling’s names?”  Tulip picks at him and Jesse continues.  
   
“Was it a family name or something?”     
   
Cass decides he’s done with the questions, he's revealed enough for the day, he snatches the picture out of Tulip's hands and retreats back to the room.   
   
“Were you named after old Uncle Proinsias, or something?” Tulip calls after him.   
   
He walks into the room muttering something about his mother and the church while folding the page with his picture back up and putting it in his pocket.  
   
“Darn, I should have gotten a picture of that picture before he took it now we’ll likely never see it again.”  Jesse laments.   
   
“I’ve got it covered.”  Tulip pulls two Xeroxed copies of the picture out of her pocket and gives one to Jesse.   
   
“You are amazing you know that?” He smiles at her and his copy of the picture.  
   
“Oh I know.”  Tulip happily puts her copy of Proinsias back in her pocket. She silently thanks whatever brought Proinias Cassidy into her life, fate, God, or some gnarly old vamp then takes Jesse's hand and leads him inside so they can see what they can do to make up for all their teasing.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and reviewing. Editing is on going. If you noticed any glaring errors let me know and I'll try to fix them.


End file.
